Product Details

• Actors: Joan Allen
• Directors: Richard Berge;Bonni Cohen;Nicole Newnham
• Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Menemsha Films
• DVD Release Date: September 16, 2008
• Run Time: 117 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0011ZJ5C2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #6,132 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #2 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > Crime & Conspiracy
  #3 in	Movies & TV > Art House & International > European Cinema > Russia
  #12 in	Movies & TV > Documentary > History

Editorial Reviews

Review
Bringing a radically new perspective to World War II and the Holocaust, this fast-paced docu, based on Lynn Nicholas' bestseller about the fate of European art both under the Nazis and afterward, casts the Third Reich in a wholly different light. Curiously, by narrowing focus, filmmakers widen the absurdity and horror of a war waged, at least in part, for a mon-strously inflated private agenda. This mesmerizing morality play, rich in rare archival footage and complete with heroic Allied saviors, merits a full-fledged arthouse run before reaching larger PBS and cable auds. Like Menno Meyjes' semi-conjectural biopic "Max," docu perceives Hitler's failure as an artist as central to the Fuhrer's gestalt. Relying on actual documents rather than fictionalized epiphanies, film-makers Richard Berge, Nicole Newn-ham and Bonni Cohen make a com-pelling case for the theory, reframing WWII in terms of objets d'art "selected" for Nazi acquisi-tion or extinction. Under Hitler's reign, art-collecting measured personal worth. Extensive footage of Hermann Goering's swag-gering aesthetic oneupmanship, culminating in before-and-after shots of the hunting lodge he converted into a palatial art gallery provides a bleakly comic mirror to Hitler's blueprint for a colossal Greco-German Fuhrermuseum. Hitler, it seems, set about conquer-ing the world armed with a cultural wishlist, his obsession with art often dictating his military itinerary. His "final solution" for so-called inferior or degenerate artwork was nearly as far-ranging as his program for human genocide (the shadow of the death camps implicitly looming large throughout the film). In this context, real or projected atrocities that other docus highlight are here enumerated by narrator Joan Allen with a wry matter-of-factness that renders them more shocking. German newsreel clips recount Hitler's confiscation of various masterpieces (including Da Vinci's "Lady With an Ermine") from Kra-kow museums and simultaneous blitzing of "inferior" indigenous art and massive shelling of monuments. His plan to exterminate the entire Polish people and colonize their land, on the other hand, is presented almost parenthetically. Similarly, shots of vast warehouses of Jewish possessions seem a mere extension of the wholesale pillaging -- until men carrying worn mattresses and dented teapots remind viewers that Hitler not only collected the valuables of Jews he slaughtered, but sought to wipe out the slightest vestiges of their existence. To the German campaign of arro-gance, greed and bloodlust, the filmmakers counterpose the Allies' dedicated art preservers. Extraordi-nary footage details the evacuation of the Louvre (a crated Winged Victory descending the great staircase miracu-lously unharmed), the artwork spir-ited away in carts just ahead of exploding bombs. The Hermitage is likewise emptied out, its curators hiding in freezing underground passages below while, above, remain-ing Russian artwork is tossed into the snow in disdain for all things Slavic. Pic pays particular homage to the Allies' Monuments Men (several of whom appear on camera), whose job was to minimize the damage done by advancing armies and track down stolen works of art. Moving seamlessly from past to present, Cohen, Berge and Newnham document the aftershocks some 50 years later, tracing stolen art pieces still in litigation, foremost among them Klimt's gold-flecked portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. The painting's eventual sale for $135 million adds yet another layer to film's myriad disconnects between the fates of millions and the whims of a few. --Variety Staff, Ronnie Scheib

Product Description
Studio: Repnet Llc Release Date: 09/16/2008

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A new slant on history, January 5, 2008

By	Beverly M. Carl "Beverly Carl" (Santa Fe,New Mexico,US) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Incredible, amazing, unforgettable. Raises numerous unanswerable questions. To what extent did Hitler's actions stem from his rejection by the Viennese art school. Unsung heroes abound--from museum personnel to monuments men. Deservedly, the film seems to run forever in our small town of Santa Fe, NM. Still no end in sight. DON'T MISS!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nazi's Art Plundering During World War II, July 12, 2008

By	Chris Luallen (Nashville, Tennessee) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

As a young man Hilter was an aspiring but mediocre painter. But Hitler's artistic ambitions were thwarted when he was not accepted into the Academy Of Fine Arts in Vienna. Many of those on the admission board were apparently Jewish and some historians blame this rejection as playing an important role in the development of Hitler's rabid anti-Semitism.

This doc begins with a discussion of the Nazi's hatred of modern art, which they considered a "degenerate" Jewish form, and their obsession with collecting classical works of art. From there the film proceeds chronologically through the German invasions of Austria, Poland, France and Russia. In each place the Nazis plundered great works of art. Some were taken into private collections, such as the vast number owned by Hermann Goering, the Nazi's second in command. Others were placed in storage, with Hilter's ultimate goal being to create a massive Fuhrer Museum in his hometown of Linz, Austria.

Fortunately, massive evacuations were undertaken at the Louvre in Paris and the Hermitage in Leningard, which successfully hid numerous works of classic art from theft by the Nazis. But it wasn't only the Germans who did the plundering. The Soviets also engaged in massive looting of German art during their raids on Berlin. Also some Italian art and architecture was destroyed by American bombing. But, to their credit, the Americans also begin sending in Monuments Men who were entrusted with helping preserve art from further destruction and confiscating the works that had being stolen by the Germans.

The film contains a mix of extraordinary archival footage with narration by Joan Allen and interviews with various art historians and others. At close to 2 hours, it is rather long for a documentary and some may find it slow at times. But with it's primary purpose education rather than entertainment, it is best appreciated by those with a strong interest in European art and Nazi atrocities. It is a very well made documentary, however, and comes highly recommeded to those with at least some interest in the subject matter.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Rape of Europa, May 1, 2008

By	anarchteacher (United States) - See all my reviews

Quite simply, this is the best documentary I have seen in the past thirty years.

As an instructor in 20th Century World History I have viewed hundreds of films relating to the Second World War. This is the primary area I focus upon with my students.

The Rape of Europa is exceptionable film making and is unlike any other documentary both in its outstanding storyline and engaging cinematic presentation.

Well over ninety-percent of the photographic imagery and historical background content was absolutely new to me.

This is a film everyone should view and own in DVD format for their personal or family collection.

I urge every educator to purchase a copy for their classroom, every librarian for their institutional patrons.

My Highest Recommendation *****